The Quotes canon

Sourced and curated.

Every quote has been curated by hand and carefully authenticated.
Browse all 10,075 quotes or apply filters in different categories to narrow your search.
There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration. — Gerald Ford · 1976Our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works; our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. — Gerald Ford · 1974An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history. — Gerald Ford · 1970There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what... Who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims...These are people who pay no income tax...And so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. — Mitt Romney · 2012
We didn't land on Plymouth Rock—Plymouth Rock landed on us! — Malcolm X · 1992We didn't land on Plymouth Rock; the rock was landed on us. — Malcolm X · 1964You are not an American, you are the victim of America! — Malcolm X · 1992
Writing3 quotes
Yeah, I try to leave out the parts that people skip. — Elmore Leonard · 1985I asked him one time what type of writing brought the most money and the agent says, "Ransom notes." — Elmore Leonard · 1990I keep writing about the ordinary because for me it's the home of the extraordinary. — Philip Levine · 2001
Capitalism2 quotes
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. — Henry Ford · 1919Greed is all right... Greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself. — Ivan F. Boesky · 1986
Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment Would you capture it, or just let it slip? — Eminem · 2002You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow This opportunity comes once in a lifetime — Eminem · 2002
Politics2 quotes
A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have. — Gerald Ford · 1960A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth. — Michael Kinsley · 1992
Brothers and sisters, I am here to tell you that I charge the white man. I charge the white man with being the greatest murderer on earth. I charge the white man with being the greatest kidnapper on earth. There is no place in this world that man can go and say he created peace and harmony. Everywhere he's gone, he's created havoc. Everywhere he's gone, he's created destruction. So I charge him. — Malcolm X · 1992Because of the spiritual rebirth which I was blessed to undergo as a result of my pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca, I no longer subscribe to sweeping indictments of one race. I intend to be very careful not to sentence anyone who has not been proven guilty. I'm not a racist and do not subscribe to any of the tenets of racism. In all honesty and sincerity it can be stated that I wish nothing but freedom, justice and equality: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all people. Now my first concern, of course, is with the group to which I belong, for we, more than any others, are deprived of our inalienable rights. But I believe the true practice of Islam can remove the cancer of racism from the hearts and the souls of all Americans. — Malcolm X · 1992
Rule of law2 quotes
Our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works; our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. — Gerald Ford · 1974Lynchings must not be tolerated in a great and civilized country like the United States; courts, not mobs, must execute the penalties of the law. — William McKinley · 1897
Activism1 quote
You had better make some noise. — Malcolm X · 1965
Aging1 quote
Life Begins at Forty. — Walter B. Pitkin · 1932
I don't see any American dream; I see an American nightmare. — Malcolm X · 1964
We have cherished the policy of non-interference with affairs of foreign governments wisely inaugurated by Washington, keeping ourselves free from entanglement, either as allies or foes, content to leave undisturbed with them the settlement of their own domestic concerns. — William McKinley · 1897
That's our motto. We want freedom by any means necessary. We want justice by any means necessary. We want equality by any means necessary. — Malcolm X · 1964
Blondes1 quote
Being blonde is definitely a different state of mind. I can't really put my finger on it, but the artifice of being blonde has some incredible sort of sexual connotation. — Madonna · 1989
Books1 quote
My alma mater was books. — Malcolm X · 1965
So take a good look at my face. You'll see my smile looks out of place. If you look closer, it's easy to trace The tracks of my tears. — The Miracles · 1965
Set me free, why don'tcha, baby Get out my life, why don'tcha, baby 'Cause you don't really love me You just keep me hangin' on. — The Supremes · 1966
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud He opens his mouth but the words won't come out He's choking, how? Everybody's joking now The clock's run out, time's up, over, blaow! — Eminem · 2002
Business1 quote
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. — Henry Ford · 1919
So this was GM chairman Roger Smith. And he appeared to have a brilliant plan: First, close 11 factories in the U. S., then open 11 in Mexico where you pay the workers 70 cents an hour. Then, use the money you've saved by building cars in Mexico to take over other companies, preferably high-tech firms and weapons manufacturers. Next, tell the union you're broke and they happily agree to give back a couple billion dollars in wage cuts. You then take that money from the workers, and eliminate their jobs by building more foreign factories. Roger Smith was a true genius. — Michael Moore · 1989
Cars1 quote
Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black. — Henry Ford · 1909
We are not fighting for integration, nor are we fighting for separation. We are fighting for recognition as human beings. We are fighting for...human rights. — Malcolm X · 1964
Cold War1 quote
There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration. — Gerald Ford · 1976
Communism1 quote
I can't prove you are a Communist. But when I see a bird that quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, has feathers and webbed feet and associates with ducks-I'm certainly going to assume that he is a duck. — Emil Mazey · 1946
A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have. — Gerald Ford · 1960
Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black. — Henry Ford · 1909
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. — Henry Ford · 1919
Corporations are people, my friend. — Mitt Romney · 2011
Creativity1 quote
Wise people... Are so wise and practical that they always know to a dot just why something cannot be done; they always know the limitations. — Henry Ford · 1922
Habit and custom may be the wisdom of unlettered men, but they come from the sound ancient heart of humanity. — Russell Kirk · 1953